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(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 1.

G. B. & J. 0. 00mm. CASH AND PARCEL CARRIER AND TRACK FOR SAME.

No. 286.592. Pltented Oct. 16, 1883.

(No Model.) 2 Shet-Sheet 2. G. B. 81; J. O. GORAM. CASH AND PARCEL BARRIER AND TRACK FOR SAME.

' Patented 001;. 16, 1883.

' INVENTORJ' rk/Q4;

fiu: C, I W Mfume)! RPEYER? Pncrlcrllthopagbue,

" Ni'r n STATES PATENT OFFICE.

.cRORcR B. OORAM'AND JOHN O. CORAM, or LOWELL, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNORS TO THE nnNNis CASH CARRIER COMPANY, OF SAME PLACE.

CASH AND PARCEL CARRIER AND TRACK FOR SAME.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 286,592, dated October 16, 1883.

Application filed August 31, 1883. (No model.) I

To aZZ whom it may concern.- Be it known that we,GEORGE B. CORAM and JOHN G. CORAM, of Lowell, in the State of Massachusetts, haveinvcnted certain new and useful Improvements in Cash or Parcel Carriers and Tracks for the Same, of which the following is a specification.

Our invention has relation, first, to means forshnnting or diverting the cash-carrier from one track to another, in which respect it is an improvement on shunting mechanism for devices of the type shown and described in Letters Patent No. 278,226, dated May 22, 1883;

and, secondly, to means for supporting the r 5 track-rails and for holding them in proper position relatively to one another, and it will be deseribed'in the order just indicated by reference to the accompanying drawings, in which I V Figure 1 is a plan View of a portion of a storetrack, intended to illustrate to a certain extent, diagrammatically, the first portion of our invention. Fig. 2 is an enlarged end elevation of one of the main flanged diverting-blocks. Fig. 3 is a front elevation of one of the track- --supporting hangers, showing the rails in crosssection and the carrier in elevation. Fig. 4 is aside elevation of the same, partly in section. Fig. 5 is a side view of two rails, showing the fastening fingers or projections on their meeting or abutting ends. Fig. 6 is a front elevation of one of the cross-rods for spacing and staying the track-rails,which latter are shown in section. x The first portion of our invention,which refers to the means for shunting or diverting the carrier from one track to another, and contemplates the combination for this purpose of a flanged carrier and a stationary diverting- 0 flange to co-opcrate therewith, substantiallyin accordance with the plan set forth in Letters Patent NO. 278, 226, is fully illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2. In these figures, A is the main track, B G are side tracks, and B B C C are branch tracks from B and 0, respectively. D D D E are carriers. Under our improvement we provide the carriers with a peripheral flange, a; to engage the stationary diverting-flange c for the purpose of shunting the carrier from the main track A onto its appropriate side tracks,- 13 or G, and with a peripheral flange, b,

to engage the stationary diverting-flange d for the purpose of shunting the carrier from its side track onto its appropriate branch track B or B &c. The flange a,which, for convenience? sake we term the main flange, is of greater diameter than the flange b, which may be termed the branch flange. The difference in size between them may be varied; but in practice weusually make the main flange about one-eighth of an inch greater in diameter than the branch flange, and we set the stationary diverting-flange which is to co-operate with the main carrier-flange at such an elevation that, while it can be reached by the latter, it cannot be engaged by the smaller or branch carrier-flange 1). Thus the main-track stationary diverting-flange 0 cannot be reached by the flange b, and consequently we are enabled to put both sets of carrier-flanges a 12 upon the body of the cash-carrier, between its wheels or flanged ends 00, without danger of the branch carrier-flanges b interfering with the main track diverting-flange a. By varying the position of the carrier-flanges a b and eorrespondingly varying the position of the stationary diverting-flanges c d, a carrier can be shunted from the main track onto its appropriate side track, and thence onto its appropriate branch track. For example, the car-- riers D D D have their main flanges a placed to engage the diverting-flange c, by which they will be shunted onto side track B; but the branch flangeb is set on carrier D to shunt the carrier onto branch track B, on carrier D 'to shunt the carrier onto branch track B,

and on carrier D to shunt the carrier onto a branch track beyond branch B On the other hand, carrier E has its main flange a so placed that it passes by without engaging the 0 stationary diverting-flange a at the junction of tracks A and D, and does not act until it reaches the stationary divertingflange c at the junction of tracks A and O, which it engages with the effect of shunting carrier E onto side 5 track C, from which latter the carrier will be shunted onto one or the other of the branches 0 G", according to the position of its branch flange b. The stationary divertingflanges may be placed either above or below the carriers. \Ve prefer-to place them below, as shown. They are secured in position by suitable means, being usually attached to the 1 hangers which are placed at intervals along the line to support the track. We in someinstances, particularly for the main track, make these flanges of blocks as shown on enlarged scale in Fig. 2, which are grooved on top, as

to secure the track to the hangers by which itis upheld,we provide the track-rails with fingers or projections, which can be bent into or around the hanger, thus fastening the rails firmly in place. I In practice we form apertures in the hanger, through which the fingers are first passed, and then are bent over and clinched upon the hanger, and we prefer to have these fingers on the rails at their meeting or abutting ends, so that when the fingers are passed through and clinched upon the hanger not only will the rails be held tight to the hanger, but the abutting ends of the two rails will be held closely and firmly together. \Ve also, with a view to staying and spacing the two parallel rails of which the track is composed, combine with the track cross stayrods, whose ends are formedto clasp the body of the rail, and are provided with shoulders which fit over corresponding shoulders on the rails, so as to hold the rails securely in place in the socket-like ends of the stay-rods without requiring the use of solder or any other extraneous means of fastening the two together. A stay-rod of this character affords a convenient and effective means of preventing the track from spreading or closing, and can be applied very easily by slipping it onto the ends of the rails, and then pushirg it along thereon to its proper place. The track-rails shown in the drawings are made of sheet metal,

and have a U form in cross-section-a convenient form to permit of the use of side and branch tracks in conjunction with the main trackas indicated in Fig. 1. The flanged end or wheels 00 of the carrier run in these trouglr like rails, and with a view to suppressing noise, as well as other reasons, we prefer to groove the periphery of the wheels as and to apply thereto tires at, composed of rubber of cylindrical cross-section, as indicated in Fig. 3, where one of the tires is shown in section. The hanger consists of a frame, F, of usual or convenient shape, which is suspended from a rod, F, attached to the ceiling or other suitable part of the room in which the apparatus is set up. The lower cross-piece of the frame is grooved ate, so as to receivethetrack-rails, which fit in grooves e, as indicated in Fig. 3. The hangers are usually applied at the points where the ends of rails meet, and such is the case in the drawings, the abutting ends of the rails G G resting in the cradles or grooves e,

formed for them in the hanger. Each rail has at its ends the finger or prong (lettered f) hereinbefore referred to. In the arrangement shown in the drawings (which isthe preferred arrangement) holes or passages 9 lead down from the cradles or grooves 6 through the hanger. IVhen the ends of the two rails are put together, the prongs f pass down through the holes g, and are then bent outwardly and clinched, thus holding the two ends of the rails together and binding them to the hanger.

These prongs can be formed separately from the rails and attached to them, or they may be made in one piece therewith. One of the cross stay-rods for spacing and holding the track-rails in place at points intermediatebetween the hangers is represented at H in Fig. 6. It is formed at each end with a groove or cradle of the proper size and shape to receive and fit snugly upon or around the body of the rail, and with one or more lips or shoulders to overlap a corresponding shoulder or shoulders on the rail. As the rail in this instance is of U form, the cradle or grooves h of the stay-rod are of corresponding shape,

and at the top or upper end of these grooves are lips or shoulders i, placed at such height as to allow the upper edges of the rail to just pass beneath them. The width of these shoulders 1' does not exceed the thickness of the walls of the U-shaped rail, so that they do not interfere with the carrier-wheels which run in the rails. The stayrod, of course, is of such length that when in place it will hold the two sides of the track the proper distance apart. To apply the stay-rod, it is fitted upon the ends of the rails, and is then slipped along thereon until it has reached its proper place. When thus placed, it serves to space the track and to prevent it from closing or opening, while, owing to its peculiar construction, there is no need of using solder or any other extraneous means of fastening it to the rails. In case these stayrods are used with rails provided with prongs f, the prongs are bent up inline with the rails, or thereabout, so as to permit the stayrods to be slipped over them onto the rails, after which the prongs can again be turned down;

or, in case the prongs are made separate fronr the rails, they need not be attached thereto until after the stay-rods are put in place.

Having set forth the nature of our improve vation as to be reached only by the largeror main carrier-flange, and a side-track diverting-flange for shunting the carrier from the side to the branch track, substantially as and for the purposes hereinbefore set forth.

2. In a store-service track, the combination,

.es'esoe a 3 with track-supporting hangers, of track-rails provided with fingers or prongs adapted to be bent over upon or around the hangers, substantially as and for the purposes hereinbefore set forth.

3. The combination, with track-supporting hangers provided with passages or holes, substantially as described, of tracleraiis provided with fingers or prongs adapted to pass through said holes and to be then bent around or clinched upon the hanger. I

4.- The combination, with a track support in g hanger, of rails whose abutting or meeting ends rest in or on the hanger, and are provided with prongs which pass through holes in the hanger and are bent around or clinched upon the hanger, substantially as and for the purposes hereinbefore set forth.

5. The combination of U-shaped rails provided with end projections or prongs, wit-h hangers through which said prongs pass and are clinched upon the hangers, substantially as hereinbefore set forth.

6. In astore-service track, the combination, wlth the track-rails of cross stay-rodsvprovided with ends adapted to fit around or upon the body of the rails, and with lips or shoulders which overlap shoulders on the rails and serve to confine said rails in their seats orcradles in the stay-rods, substantially as and for the purposes hereinbefore set forth.

' 7. In combination with the U shaped trackrails, the cross stay-rod provided with end I grooves or cradles, h, and lips or shoulders i, substantially as and for the purposes hereinbefore set forth.

- In testimony whereof we have'hereunto set our hands this 30th day of July, 1883.

cE-onon B. eonnir. JOHN o. CORAM.

Witnesses:

A. T. ATHERroN, \V. BRENNEN. 

